Healing From Darkness
by Dannrose
Summary: Khan left many wounds and not just on Jim Kirk. With Pavel blaming himself no-one can convince him it wasn't his fault as Jim recovers. The efforts of someone out with the crew may be able to change that. Contains Spoilers for the second movie.
1. Winona

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Hello all and welcome. Here is my story on what happened after ST: Into Darkness and I've ended up involving Winona Kirk in this one and you'll find out about her and Jim's history. Like the rest of my stories there is a lot of Pavel though it's a bit more angsty then the others but don't worry fluff will appear somewhere.**_

_**I own nothing.**_

* * *

**Winona**

It had been three days since Jim Kirk died.

Three days since Khan, three days since Marcus and the _Vengeance_, three days since the _Enterprise _nearly fell to Earth killing all aboard her, three days since Captain James Tiberius Kirk had entered the warp core and sacrificed himself to save his ship and crew and Pavel Andreievich Chekov still didn't know how to deal with all of it.

His Captain, his Papa had _died _and though McCoy had found a way to bring him back he had still died and Pavel couldn't shake the feeling that it was his fault.

Everyone had been telling him otherwise; Scotty had done so several times, Hikaru had sought him out and said so along with Nyota, even Spock and McCoy had broken away from their constant watch at Jim's side to try and tell him but no matter how many times they said it wasn't his fault Pavel still wouldn't believe it. This was why he had yet to visit Jim at the hospital; he couldn't bear the thought of facing his Captain now when it was his failure in Engineering that left the ship in the state it was forcing Jim to enter the warp core. So he stayed shut up in the apartment that a few of the Command Crew shared and brooded in his room despite the continued pleadings of Nyota for him to come out.

It was into this situation that Winona Kirk arrived.

* * *

Leonard McCoy was exhausted.

He had barely left Jim's side since three days ago, in fact he had only left the hospital once to try and convince Pavel to come and visit Jim and to tell him it wasn't his fault. Unfortunately all he had seen of the boy was his bedroom door and McCoy was certain that his words had done little to convince the teen. He was sat in a seat next to Jim's bed trying to get some sleep but it was proving to be as elusive as the last couple of nights and he eventually gave up. Spock had left earlier that night, the half-Vulacn had spent almost as much time with Jim as McCoy and had only left to sleep and to try and speak to Pavel himself. If what he said when he arrived at the hospital that morning was to go by Spock had also been unsuccessful with the boy.

Bones whiled away the night hours remembering the things he had done with Jim and had eventually drifted into a half-doze when a voice startled him.

"Leonard?"

He jumped in his seat and looked towards the door and was surprised to see Winona Kirk standing there. He knew very little about what happened between her and Jim, all McCoy knew was that they had been out of contact for a long time until after Nero when they got back in touch and commed regularly. Since then she had visited the _Enterprise _once or twice and met the rest of the Command Crew and had thanked McCoy profusely for 'looking after her Jimmy'. He had obviously managed to send a message to her about what happened when he had a chance but she worked on a cargo ship that was at the other side of the Federation so he hadn't expected her to be able to return so soon.

Bringing his thoughts into focus McCoy spoke, "Mrs Kirk, I didn't think you'd be able to make it back this quickly."

She moved towards Jim's bed, "When my captain heard what happened he turned the ship around and got back to Earth as quickly as possible. I only arrived back about an hour ago."

By the time she had finished speaking she was standing by the bed looking down at Jim, "How is he?"

McCoy sighed before answering, "The radiation did a lot of damage but at the moment the serum is doing its work. It's just taking a long time so we have to keep him on life support until his body has healed enough to keep itself alive.

She nodded still staring at her son and Bones got up out of his seat so she could sit down. They stayed with Jim with Winona sitting holding Jim's hand while McCoy stood beside them not saying anything. Eventually Winona spoke, "How are you holding up?"

The Doctor paused before answering, "I'm coping, there's no point moping when he needs my help."

She smiled, "You're good to him and the rest."

"Well someone has to be the responsible one on that ship."

There was a lot more in that statement than appeared and Winona understood. She spoke again, "How are the rest managing?"

"Spock's been here almost as much as me, in fact I only think he sleeps elsewhere cause Nyota makes him. She's been here a few times though she's largely looking after Pavel. Scotty is either here or on the _Enterprise _busy with repairs and Hikaru visits every day, I'm not sure what he does when he's not here but I think he's living in Jim's arpartment with Nyota and Pavel."

"What about Pavel? You haven't said what he's been doing. I thought he wouldn't have left Jim's side?"

McCoy gave a huge sigh, "He isn't doing as well, he's blaming himself for what happened and nothing we say can make him think otherwise. He won't leave the apartment and he barely leaves his room, he hasn't come to visit Jim either and I don't think he's eating properly despite Nyota constantly trying to get him to do so. She rarely goes back to her and Spock's apartment now cause she's worried, we all are." He rubbed a hand tiredly down his face, "He's going to do a lot of damage to himself at this rate but the only person who could possibly get through to him is Jim."

Winona gazed down at her son before giving his hand a squeeze and standing. She turned to McCoy, "Thank you Leonard, I'll be back soon but I should go and find somewhere to stay."

"Why not stay in Jim's apartment?"

She looked at him confused and he spoke again, "It's fairly close and I'm sure Jim won't mind, it belongs to both of me and him and everyone else seems to be staying there anyway. I know Nyota would be happy to see you and since we don't know how long it'll be before Jim wakes up you don't have to worry about paying for a hotel or something."

She thought about his offer before replying, "Thank you Leonard, it is kind of you to make that offer."

He smiled at her, "It's the least I can do. I'll let Nyota know your coming. Do you need transport to get there?"

"It's ok, I've hired a car and I know the way. I'll be back to visit him soon."  
"I'll let you know the moment anything happens."

"Thank you."

With a quick kiss on Jim's forehead she left as McCoy took his seat again.

* * *

It didn't take long for Winona to arrive at her son's apartment and Nyota met her at the door. The younger woman placed a finger on her lips as Winona entered and she gestured to the couch.

"Scotty's sleeping."

Winona looked and saw that the CEO was indeed asleep on the couch and looking like he hadn't slept in a while. She quietly entered as Nyota shut the door behind her and looked around her. The apartment was as she remembered but there were definite signs that several people had been living in it. Nyota looked apologetic, "Sorry about the mess but pretty much everyone has been staying here on and off since three days ago."

"It's alright Nyota; everyone has had more important things to worry about."

Winona noticed how tired the younger women looked, "How are you holding up?"

Nyota rubbed her eyes tiredly, "Ok, Leonard says that it's just a matter of waiting for Jim to get better unless something drastic happens. I'm currently really worried about Pavel, did Leonard say mention anything about it to you?"

Winona nodded sadly, "He did, I take it he hasn't been any better."

"No, I've tried everything as has everyone else but we can't get him to even leave his room. I don't know what to do, I can't get him to eat or even just talk to me."

Winona placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You're doing everything you can and who knows, maybe as Jim gets better Pavel will to."

Nyota smiled gratefully, "Thank you, here I am pouring my worries on you when Jim is your son and is in hospital."

"Jim is in good hands with Leonard and as Pavel is his surrogate son that makes him my surrogate grandson so he's partly my responsibility to."

Nyota nodded before speaking again, "I've been using Leonard's room so I hope you don't mind using Jim's, it's all set up for you and everything. Hikaru will come back some point tonight; he's been helping in the city where the ship crashed so don't be surprised if you hear him come in late."

"Thank you Nyota."

"Do you need help with anything?"

"Its ok, I can manage."

Nyota nodded before making her way to the kitchen table and starting something on her PADD. Winona made her way to where she knew her son's room was and passed Pavel's which was next to it. She paused outside and listened and heard muffled noises inside, she thought about knocking but decided against it and moved on. As she entered her son's room she noticed how sparse it was, it seemed that like his father Jim was more at home on a starship so he left very few personal belongings on Earth. Her mind then turned to Pavel, out of Jim's crew he was the one she had most contact with closely followed by Leonard and was worried like everyone else by his behaviour. As she unpacked what little she had with her she decided to help him anyway she could. Jim's recovery was in the hands of medicine, the least she could do was take care of his son in his absence.

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_**PS-I hope you enjoyed this and I should update this or 'Unofficial Rules' soon. Please let me know what you thought.**_


	2. Speech through the Door

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Greetings everyone. I'm back with a fairly heavy chapter for you. Thank you for your support of this story and I must admit it's been harder to write than my other stories but challenge is good. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

_**As always I own nothing.**_

* * *

**Speech through the Door**

The rest of the day passed by and worry permeated the entire apartment.

After she had unpacked Winona had begun to make breakfast despite Nyota's protests. It was still early in the day and the younger woman had looked so tired Winona felt that Nyota needed a break; it was obvious she had been the one looking after everyone else the last few days. Scotty woke up as soon as he smelt food and joined them at the table when it was ready but Nyota couldn't convince Pavel to come and eat as well. The meal largely went by in silence except for Scotty asking how Winona got back to Earth so quickly.

Afterwards Scotty made to leave saying, "I should get back tae the _Enterprise,_ there's still a lot of repairs that need done."

Nyota quickly tried to stop him, "No Scotty, you've been working on her the last three days and nights with hardly any breaks. You need to rest more."

"But I'm fine now."

"Scotty you collapsed as soon as you got here early this morning. You haven't slept in three days!"

"There's so much that needs doing, I haven't got time tae sleep!" Scotty was starting to sound angry.

Nyota's voice started to rise, "If you keep on like this you're going to make yourself ill! The engineers can handle it without you for a day or two!"

"I have tae be there!" Scotty was almost shouting now, "What if they do something wrong? I'm no leaving the ship alone for too long again!"

Nyota was about to reply when Winona cut in, "Enough you two!"

They both looked at her and she continued, "Look at you both fighting. How is this helping anything?" She looked at Scotty, "Montgomery, she has a point. If you don't rest properly then you'll end up ill and then you'll be no use to anyone." Scotty looked a bit shame-faced and Winona turned to Nyota, "But you should also be resting. It's obvious that you haven't been sleeping properly either and if you end up ill who'll look after Pavel?" Nyota looked down at the table top as Winona finished, "You both have obviously not been looking after yourselves as well as you should have so I expect you to start from today. That way you'll both ready for when Jim wakes up. How do you think he would feel if he woke just to find out that his friends had been fighting with each other because they weren't sleeping properly?"

Seeing that they both were getting her point Winona said one last thing, "Now I think we should all get some sleep. I know I'm tired having been up all night and so are you two. The breakfast dishes can be sorted later lets just go and sleep."

She received muted nods from both of them and she got up from the table and headed for her son's room. She briefly paused at Pavel's door again but decided that in her present tired state it would not be best to speak to him just yet and headed for bed.

* * *

Pavel had heard what had happened and felt even worse.

Not only were Scotty and Nyota fighting but Winona was here as well. Jim's mother was _here_! There was no way he could face her when his failure was the reason for Jim being in a coma, he wouldn't be able to even look at his Papa's mother now. When he heard her stop outside his door he desperately hoped that she wouldn't knock or worse come in but she thankfully moved on into Jim's room.

The apartment went quiet except for the distant snores of Scotty and remained that way well into the afternoon as Pavel just lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He lost himself in his thoughts until he heard movement from the next door room and looked at his clock to see that it was almost 3pm. Slowly people began to move about again though any conversation was muted and sparse. Pavel was left pretty much alone except for Nyota knocking on the door trying to get him to eat and he refused to do so.

He heard Spock come in later and surprisingly enough he had McCoy with him. Pavel assumed that Winona must have returned to the hospital at some point and bullied the doctor into coming home to sleep while she was there. There was some quiet discussion then there were footsteps coming towards his room and then a quiet knocking. "Pavel, you there?" McCoy's voice came through the door.

Pavel didn't answer but the doctor continued anyway, "I thought you might like to know that Jim has been improving greatly. He's not off life-support yet but it should only be a couple of days till he is. He'll be up and about and annoying us all again in no time, you'll see."

There was a silence as McCoy waited for a response, then, realising that one wasn't coming, footsteps as he returned to the living area.

* * *

As night came around everyone eventually turned in for the night.

Pavel could again hear Scotty snoring in the living room though this time he was joined by McCoy who had proberly been forced to stay and sleep by Winona, who had returned from the hospital, and Nyota. There was a new noise and Pavel dimly registered that it was Hikaru returning from the crash site of the _Vengeance_, There was a very gentle knock on his door and Hikaru spoke, "Hey Pav, I hope I'm not waking you?" there was silence then he spoke again, "It's been a lot of work in the city, there's so much wreckage but at least we've saved all the injured." There was a soft thump and Pavel guessed that the other man had sat on the floor with his back against the door, "I've been mostly shifting debris about, obviously there are a host of machines helping but there's so much that there are plenty of people helping shift it by hand." Another pause, "Nyota managed to let me know that Winona would be here. I'm guessing she's the one who convinced McCoy to come home and sleep, I think him and Scotty are trying to out snore each other in the living room." He gave a soft laugh and there was a long silence before he spoke again, "Pavel, I know you think it's your fault and I know that we've all told you it isn't but we really mean it. You're not to blame for any of it and I promise you that it is true. We're all scared for you Pav, we're scared that we're going to wake up and found that you've left because of guilt. It's not your guilt to bear and we don't want to lose you because of it." There was another silence and then Hikaru spoke once more, "Pav, please don't do this by yourself. We're here and we want to help so please at least talk to one of us, I know we're not Jim but please let us try and be there for you." He sighed, "You're my little brother and I want to help you Pav."

Pavel heard him get up and return to the living room as lay on his bed with tears silently pouring down his face.

* * *

_**PS-There we have it and I hope you liked that. I gave Hikaru a nice long speech since I think I haven't delved much into his big brother relationship with Pavel. I know this story is a bit depressing at the moment but do not fear the fluff will appear. I can't find it in me to keep Pavel so sad and lonely for long.**_


	3. A Story

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Hello everyone. Here is chapter three for you all and you get to know a bit about Jim and Winona's history. This story has definitely been more difficult than my other ones to write but as I've said before challenge is good. Thank you for you continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter. **_

_**I own nothing.**_

* * *

**A Story**

Pavel had eventually cried himself to sleep and awoke very late the next day.

The day passed much the same as the one before as people came and went quietly. McCoy had returned to the hospital at some point and Scotty returned to the _Enterprise._ Hikaru had again gone to the crash site to help there and Nyota and Winona both spent the afternoon visiting Jim. With everybody out, Pavel stole out of his room.

He had taken to coming out when no-one was around so he didn't have to talk to anyone and had used these rare times for eating food and general hygiene purposes. He made his way to the kitchen, being careful to check that none of the Command Crew were around, and grabbed a small bite of food. He then quickly retreated back to his room via the bathroom before anyone came back. He nibbled slowly at the food he had taken as he really didn't feel hungry and thought about what happened. Like all the other times he had thought about it he found his mind coming up with ways that it was his fault, little things that just might have prevented it had he'd done them properly. Eventually he just stopped thinking about it and fell back into sleep.

When he next woke it was late night and the apartment was silent. His room suddenly felt close and unwelcoming and feeling the need to just get out he quietly made his way to the door and gently opened it. Peering out he saw that the way was clear and he softly padded to the living room. He didn't know why but Hikaru wasn't sleeping there like he had the last couple of nights so Pavel took the chance and settled himself next to the large window.

* * *

Winona had found herself unable to sleep.

She had been with Jim most of the day and Leonard had almost excitedly told her that her son was recovering quicker than they thought and should be off life-support by the next day. Though this was great news and alleviated many of her worries it also made her focus more on how Pavel was acting. She had contemplated several times how best to approach him but couldn't come up with a suitable way, especially since he wasn't listening to the rest of the crew. Knowing she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon Winona got up and, putting on her dressing gown, made her way to the kitchen thinking that she might get herself something to eat.

As she entered the living room she noticed Pavel sitting next to the large window and stopped in surprise, "Pavel?"

The boy jumped and his head shot round to look at her, his eyes then widened dramatically as he realised who she was. Winona slowly made her way towards him taking in his appearance. His hair looked a little messier than it usually did and his clothes were rumpled. The bags under his eyes were evident even in the half light of the room and he became more and more nervous as she approached. She gently lowered herself next to him before speaking, "Why don't you want to see Jim?"

He appeared caught off guard by the question and quickly looked down.

"Pavel?"

He looked back towards her before answering, "I just can't see him vhen eets my fault he's zere."

She nodded and looked out across the city and he did as well. They sat in silence for a while and Winona thought about how best to proceed, then a thought came to her and she spoke again, "Do you know why me and Jim were out of contact for so long?"

Pavel looked at her confused and shook his head.

"I'm not surprised." She paused before continuing, "After Jim was born it was difficult, I still worked for Starfleet and was off-planet for long periods of time. I left my sons with my brother Frank but he didn't care for them properly. I tried to do what I could but Jim's older brother Sam left him to stay with his Grandfather instead. In the end I thought it best to send Jim elsewhere and at first it seemed to be fine, then something terrible happened where he was and he experienced terrible things. When he got through it he was so ashamed he felt that he couldn't see me again, the guilt of what he had to do caused him lose contact with me. I heard nothing from him for years, in fact I thought he hadn't survived and it wasn't until after the _Narada _that I heard anything about him."

She managed to hold back her tears at the thought of what her son had been through as she spoke to the boy beside her, "He felt similar to how you do now, that is why we didn't speak for years. You're a good person Pavel, that's why you're blaming yourself for what happened, Jim did the same but you should think about how you're handling this. Jim's guilt meant he didn't speak with me for years but it also meant he didn't let go of it either, not until Christopher Pike and the rest of you helped him to. I know you feel that it's your fault and that's why you can't see Jim or speak to the others but that is the very thing that's preventing you from getting through this."

She looked at Pavel beside her and saw him thinking about what she had said, he then spoke quietly, "Vat should I do?"

She placed her hands on his shoulders, "Go and see Jim, I know you feel that's the last thing you want to do but you need to." She pulled him into a hug, "Believe me, it's the best thing you can do and who knows it might help speed Jim's recovery as well."

* * *

The next morning Winona was gently guiding Pavel through the hospital corridors.

After their talk she had stayed with Pavel for the rest of the night and felt a huge amount of relief when he'd requested to see Jim that day. She'd been adamant in not letting anyone else come with them; Pavel did not need an audience for this. She felt him tense and pull back as they approached the door to Jim's room and she placed a comforting arm around him. He looked up at her encouraging smile and took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room was quiet as different screens showed Jim's various vital signs as McCoy stood beside the bed. He looked up as Pavel entered and gave him a comforting smile, "It's good to see you here kid. Jim was taken off life-support this morning; he's being a pain and ignoring what the doctors have been saying as usual. They had estimated timings for his recovery and naturally he has to be ahead of their schedule."

Strangely enough the doctor's words comforted him and Pavel found himself moving closer to the bed. He stood next to it and looked at his Papa's face, though it was no where near its normal colour Jim's face looked a lot healthier than it had before and Pavel was reassured by the steady rise and fall of his chest. He suddenly felt McCoy gently place his hand on Jim's chest and he could feel the weak but steady beat of his Papa's heart.

He didn't realise he had sat down on the chair next to the bed as he stared at his Papa who was very much alive. Just the fact that he had seen it for himself started to ease Pavel for if his Papa was alive then he could cope, he could take comfort in that alone and for now that was all he needed.

McCoy and Winona had left them be and returned later that morning. When they got there they saw that Pavel had fallen asleep with his head on Jim's bed. What really surprised them was that at some point Jim's hand had moved to rest on the boy's head as if to give his son what little protection he could while he slept.

* * *

_**PS-So there you have and you may be pleased to know it's only going to get happier from here on out and the fluff will return.**_


	4. Jim Wakes

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Greetings all and sundry. Here is the fourth chapter and it will not be as depressing as the previous ones. It also contains the fluff I promised and quite a good bit of it. Thank you for your support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

_**As per the norm I own nothing.**_

* * *

**Jim Wakes**

The following days passed by quickly and although Pavel was still withdrawn and quiet he had noticeably improved.

He was spending less time in his room and would join them for most meals. He was also spending a lot of time with Jim at the hospital and McCoy was saying that it seemed to be causing Jim to recover even more quickly. It had now been about two weeks since Khan and Bones had excitedly announced that Jim was about to wake up. As such they were all at the hospital for when he was due to wake though Spock was the only one in the room with him and McCoy. They waited impatiently to be told it was ok for them to go in as well and eventually Bones came out. The doctor quickly stalled their questions, "Jim's doing fine and you can go and see him but I only want a couple of people at a time."

Nyota headed in first since Winona had wanted to be last and Spock was already inside. Pavel was fidgeting nervously in one of the seats and Winona came and sat next to him.

"Are you worried about speaking to him?" she asked quietly so the others didn't hear.

Pavel looked at her and just nodded and she placed a comforting arm around his shoulders, "Don't worry; he is going to be very happy to see you."

Pavel wasn't convinced but nodded anyway.

When Nyota came back with Spock, Scotty and Hikaru went in together leaving Pavel and Winona to wait. As time went by Pavel got more and more anxious about seeing his Papa. He'd been visiting regularly during the last few days but with Jim now awake he was worried that his Papa would be disappointed with his performance in Engineering and give voice to it. Pavel didn't think he would be able to take that. Eventually Hikaru and Scotty were ejected from Jim's room by McCoy and, with a bit of encouragement from Winona, Pavel made his way to his Papa's room.

* * *

When he entered he saw that Jim was propped upright in his bed by pillows and was looking very alert for someone who was in a coma about an hour ago. McCoy was to the side giving them some space. Jim gave him a broad smile when he saw Pavel and spoke, "Hi Pasha, how you doing?"

Pavel shuffled nervously, "I'm fine sor."

Jim frowned slightly and gestured for him to come closer and looked concerned when Pavel hesitated, "Pavel, what's wrong?"

Pavel opened his mouth a couple of times but didn't answer as he stood awkwardly next to the bed. Jim took his hand and his look of concern deepened, "Pasha, why are you crying?"

Pavel suddenly noticed that there were tears coming down his face and before he could stop himself he began sobbing, "I'm sorry Papa, eet's all my fault and I'm so sorry."

He continued to sob as Jim pulled him into a hug and began to run his hand through Pavel's hair, "It's ok Pasha, you don't have anything to be sorry for." Pavel's sobs got a bit quieter as Jim continued, "None of it was your fault, it was Khan and Marcus who caused it all. You did everything you could in Engineering and there is no reason for you to blame yourself." Pavel pulled away a bit and Jim looked him right in the eye, "I put you in a very pressured position and you did an amazing job. You helped me and Scotty get the Warp core running again and you were exceptionally accurate in beaming Spock and Nyota down to Earth which helped them immensely in catching Khan. You also saved mine and Scotty's lives when you managed to catch us in Engineering." He pulled Pavel back into a hug, "You've done all of us proud and no-one is more proud than me so stop blaming yourself because you didn't do anything wrong."

Pavel gave a sniff, "Sank you Papa."

Jim smiled, "Anytime Pasha, I love you."

"I love you to Papa."

* * *

_**PS-A bit shorter than the others but I thought it best to leave it where it was. I'll only have one more chapter but you'll get to see Jim's reaction to his mother being there so watch this space.**_


	5. Mother

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Hello everyone. Here is the last chapter of this story and though it is short I hope it is enjoyable. Thank you to everyone who has supported this story and please let me know what you thought of it.**_

_**I own nothing.**_

* * *

**Mother**

It took a while but Pavel eventually calmed down a bit and drifted off to sleep.

Bones had left during Jim and Pavel's conversation and returned to see Jim holding the sleeping Pavel. He didn't say anything and just went over to get the boy in a more comfortable position. With Pavel settled at Jim's side the doctor spoke to his friend, "There's one more person to see you Jim."

"Who?"

Bones just smiled before heading back out of the room leaving Jim wondering who else was here to see him. Needless to say he was extremely surprised when Winona Kirk walked in.

He just stared at his mother before he finally managed to speak, "Mom?"

She smiled, "Hello Jimmy."

"How did you manage to get back, I thought your ship was the other side of the Federation?"

She settled herself in the seat next to the bed as she answered, "It was but as soon as we heard what had happened the captain turned around to return to Earth. Our engineer got as much out of the ship as he could so we got back after three days of continuous travel at full speed."

Jim gave her a grateful smile before asking another question, "Where have you been staying for the last week or so?"

"Leonard said I could stay in your apartment while you were here, he said you wouldn't mind though I should really tell you that it seems most of your Command Crew have also been staying there so the place isn't exactly the cleanest."

Jim just grinned at the idea of his crew staying in the same apartment and they sat in silence. Winona eventually broke it, "I see Pavel has made himself comfortable."

Jim looked down at the teen who was snuggled into his side sleeping peacefully before speaking, "He was really upset not that long ago, he was blaming himself for everything. I'm guessing he took a bit of convincing to come."

"He did, he wasn't even speaking to anyone when I arrived. I managed to catch him out of his room and talk to him; I told him about how you wouldn't contact me because of your guilt and that he needed to see you to help deal with his own."

Jim spoke warily, "Did you say why I had so much guilt?"

"I just said something terrible happened. Don't worry Jim, I haven't told any of them that you were on Tarsus IV."

He let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you. I don't want them to ever have to know about that, especially not Pavel."

Winona took her son's free hand, "I understand Jim but for what its worth I believe that if they ever do find out they'll still be there for you. They have been so strong the last two weeks."

Jim nodded, "Thank you Mom. Thank you for looking after them when I couldn't."

She smiled, "Anytime Jim, it was the least I could do for you. Now I think you should follow the example of your son and get some sleep."

She helped Jim to lie down properly, being careful to not disturb Pavel, and when he was settled she took a hold of his hand again. He looked up at her, "Are you going to stay with me till I sleep?"

Smiling she answered, "Jim, of course I'm staying." She kissed his forehead, "For as long as you need me too."

He smiled as his eyes began to close and she said one more thing, "I love you Jim."

"I love you too Mama."

* * *

_**PS-And there we have it. I focused largely on Jim and Winona this chapter but I felt that I had to do some sort of scene between the two of them. I will hopefully update 'Unofficial Rules' soon so keep an eye out.**_


End file.
